Civil Society Organisations’ active engagement in Sustainable Development Goals

The global community on September 25, 2015 agreed upon a global agenda for transformation with 17 goals and 169 targets. These 17 goals, which came to be known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is a 15-year agenda applied to all countries and not just the developing countries as was the case for

Millennium Development Goals. This global agreement for the agenda and a voluntary review process provides an opportunity for civil society to play a role nationally, regionally and globally.

However, what is most exciting is how the SDGs are implemented at the local levels as there are 17 goals, 169 targets and 230 indicators especially when they are cross cutting and built on the comprehensive framework where economic, social and environmental concerns must be taken into account in a fair and balanced way including human rights commitments.

As one researching and working among the poor in Malaysian society, especially among the urban poor as well as forest based communities, the theme of sustainability was very attractive for adopting a human rights approach to development.

This book entitled Civil Society Organisations’ (CSOs) Active Engagement in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) captures six of my most recent presentations on SDGs from a CSO perspective at national, regional and global meetings. The book is divided into two parts. Part One consists of three articles, which are about CSOs in Malaysia engaging in the national SDG process. Malaysia has been open and has created good participation opportunities.

Part Two is about applying the SDGs in three different contexts. The first context in part two is on social

solidarity economy (SSE), which is about collective action for common good by the local community. The second is about tapping the potential of social workers as implementers of SDG goals and targets by adopting a SDG framework for their social work practice. The third is about the sustainability theme and my comments on Dr. Hezri Adnan’s new book.